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It was mid-afternoon when boy number three hundred thirteen began to awake. Laying on his back, the kit was dropped unceremoniously a few feet away from him. Just beneath his head, was a small un-earthed root which he had hit the back of his head on.

The strong shall survive... the weak shall die...

Groaning, Arsenio Thanodeus slowly began to wake up. How long had he been out of it? Hours? Days? Weeks? He didn't know, everything seemed disoriented to him, his head was pounding, and he felt that if he moved, he'd be sent for a tailspin. All he could recall clearly were the minutes before he and his classmates had been gassed. "Ugh..."

As he began to sit up, his left hand went to the back of his head where the pain was coming from. Flinching, he sat there for a moment, willing the pain to dim, willing himself to not feel it. Opening his eyes, he looked around the area he was carelessly disposed into. All he could see were trees, shadows, and lots of places for people to hide waiting for the kill.

They want a game of survival, they'll get a game, but they won't get me...

Grabbing the kit not far from him, Arsenio quickly rose to his feet, almost too quickly, but he maintained himself. Looking about alertly, he stepped softly into the shadows of a large deciduous tree. Examining the tree itself, he slung the kit over his shoulder, making sure to secure it as well, and with a grunt jumped up to the lowest branch of the tree and grabbing on.

He only hung there for a moment before he pulled himself up into the tree and continued an upward climb towards the center. Once there, he settled himself onto a branch and grabbed his kit, digging through to see what he all had. That's when he found the handbook... This, could prove to be a bit useful.... Opening the book, he began to read, sitting cozily up in a tree...

[I am unaware of what my weapon is as of yet... so, uh, be kind. ^^;;]

Drew had been walking slowly and quietly for some time. Thank god for all that reading he did; thanks to the dumbasses in some novels of his, he'd learned not to run around like a maniac in a situation like this. So, he kept low, creeping along. He watched the ground, making sure he stepped around and not on any leaves or sticks. Overall, he was more watchful then Tobs ever was, and yet, less watchful at times. If that makes sense in the least.

His kit was slung over his shoulder, and his right pocket slightly bulged out from his new cellphone. Nice flip-phone model. It was off, even though it was fully charged. Wouldn't do to have it ring, and he didn't trust silent mode.

He hadn't seen anyone for the few hours he'd been awake. After reading the handbook in the kit he now held over his shoulder, he'd come to one conclusion. After a lengthly mental swearing session, that is.If this is serious, I'll do my best to hide, make friends, figure out what the fuck's going on. He wasn't about to play the game, for the same basic reason as Tobs. What if he survived? His conscience would beat the shit out of him for eternity; also, would they be considered legal? He knew it wasn't a nice thought, but ...what about all the lawsuits? He'd laughed at himself when he thought of it, but now, he realized he had a point.If he survived, and these bastard terrorists let him go home, he'd be in serious legal trouble, he guessed. What's the point of winning this game if your reward is being stuck in a prison with a murderer or rapist? In the end, Drew had chosen to somewhat accept the situation he was in. He would not play the game, but nor would be stand around to get shot. He believed what he'd read, and what he hadn't had been cemented in place the first time he'd heard a gunshot. From there, he'd found blood, and a grave near a river. He thought it was a grave, at least. He'd also heard voices around the river, but had heard a second gunshot from that direction just a while before then, so had not chosen to check into it.

Alright, gotta find some people I can ...trust? Can't trust anything, no...gotta find people who won't try to kill me, that's it. He nodded to himself as he crept along silently. He took his stance from what he'd always imagined in the books, and from Splinter Cell games. He was low to the ground, read to drop to his stomach (that would mean something's wrong) or leap to his feet (meaning he's totally fucked, unless he gets a miracle).

And, all at once, he heard movement. Snapping his head to the right, he saw something flash through the bushes. He dropped to his stomach, pushing some annoying branches out of the way, and watched intently. Scary how similar this was to something he'd done at a camp in ...what was it? 7th grade? Ha, it felt like a lifetime ago now.

He laid on his stomach, scarecly breathing, making very little sound. He watched the guy go about what he was doing...shit, he looked strong. To tell the truth, Drew was getting tired. But, his adrenaline rush (along with the fact that he could be killed; not very appealing, that) was keeping him fully alert. He worried that he'd just pass out when the adrenaline wore off, though...

Hm... interesting... Fingering the collar around his neck, Arsenio made note not to try to remove it, and to hope that someone died just so he could save his own ass. Obviously, he had just read the part about the collars, and wasn't too fond of them.

That's when he heard something hit the forest floor. Without bothering to finish reading, he closed his book and placed it in his bag, looking towards the sound. Watching a small brush area, Arsenio slowly climbed down and out of the tree, his bag secured over his shoulder.

"Who goes there?!" His voice was a rich tenor, and his eyebrows were drawn together, giving his face a menacing look.

Stepping lightly towards the brush, he made sure to avoid any sticks and twigs so as not to make any loud, startling, sounds. He might be large and strong, doesn't mean he's a nitwit. >>;

Slowly, his right hand wrapped around a strap of his bag. Should whoever he heard pose a threat to him, he'd at least be able to whack him over the head with his bag, though, it would probably only piss the person off. x.x

Fuck. Fuck... This he repeated in his mind, over and over. And when Arsenio began to proceed towards Drew, his swearing increased in tempo.I can't sneak away...there's too much light, and too few places to hide when he's right there...hm. I could just stand up and introduce myself, but ...what if he's playing? Shit, shit, shit, talk about a dilemma! He realized he was shaking a bit. Not lightly, but not heavily either.

Finally deciding that further hiding would just make Drwe seem more and more hostile, he brought his arms close to his body. From there, he pushed up a bit, like a push-up. He brought his knee in, propping himself up. He slowly rose. Drew knew that shooting upwards risked two things. Slamming his head into Arsenio (ouch) or scaring Arsenio into attacking (SHIT). So, he came up slowly, standing in the middle of the bush. It rose up to the middle of his chest; in other words, he was completely obscured from chest down, and completely exposed chest up. He braced himself for running quickly away, should Arsenio attack. Someone that huge, Drew wouldn't be able to defend.

Alright. Let's see. Checklist time. Hands empty, palm open towards him to show them as such...check. Language filter...check. Don't want to offend him; let's see how he speaks, and adjust filters to that. Much like Tobs, he thought in terms of language filters. Around, say, someone he liked (or girls in general) he had a strict filter on; even 'damn' would barely ever get through. Around good friends, or alone, there was no filter whatsoever. Time to find out what filter to apply, so as not to offend...someone who could kick Drew's ass, even without weapons.

"...you're not playing, are you? Please, tell me you're not." He was shaking lightly; he knew what to do thanks to his books, but tension and fear still forced him to shake. Honestly, he was on the verge of breaking down. He was shaking much harder now.

"I-I don't know you...you're not fr-from my school, are y-you? H-Huron High?" His hands were at chest level for him, and he watched Arsenio. Aside from his shaking (and cracking voice), he seemed...Shit, nevermind, he looked, sounded, and acted like he was scared shitless.

Drew always had a tendency to hide his feelings. When they showed themselves, boy, they shot to the surrface. Heh.

Watching for signs of whoever was hiding in the bush, Arsenio kept a tight lock on his fear of it being somebody who would kill him right then and there. Had it not been for his size, he probably wouldn't have even of approached the bush, let alone leave his tree. >>

Seeing the boy come out of the bush, his eyes widened slightly, he had to be at least half his size, and he could see the slight shaking. Shit, the kid must have been scared to death just by his sheer size. Shaking his head, he let his hands drop to his sides, just looking at the boy.

"Playing? I just woke up a little while ago... I haven't even read through the entire handbook yet, let alone begun to play." He raised his hand up to his head and ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed.

Hearing the boy's question, Arsenio shook his head no and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, pulling him out of the bush.

"I've never been to Huron High, but damnt, I never meant to scare ya kid. The name's Arsenio Thanodeus. What's your name?"

Drew nodded shakily as he spoke. Oh, great, I disturbed him? Ha, shit, I love my luck. ...let's hope he doesn't play. He didn't flinch as Arsenio scratched his head, oddly enough. You'd expect someone so shaky to jump a mile when someone did something like that. Drew didn't; was he calming down?

He blinked as he felt the man's hands on his shoulders, and felt himself thrust out of the bush. He kept his mouth screwed shut; he was worried he's yell out or something stupid as hell like that. He staggered a bit as he shot out of the bush, waving his arms about. He regained balance just before he would have fallen, thankfully, and spun around to face Arsenio.

Take it easy...he didn't mean to scare you...take it easy... After a deep breath or two (or three, or four...he lost count, actually), Drew had stopped shaking.

Watching Drew, Arsenio casually crossed his arms, and glanced around the area, checking for signs of anyone else. He really did not want to be caught off guard when he hadn't even reached the end of the handbook yet, though, looking at Drew, he figured he must have read it by now and probably knew more of what was going on.

When it looked as if Drew were to fall, his arms came uncrossed, and he stepped a bit closer to him. He might be large, and look like a school tough guy, but really, he was a nice person deep down. Taking a look at Drew outside of the bush now, he nodded his head, as if making a decision to a question without asking or being asked a question.

"Drew Lynn. Nice to meet you. Just call me Arsenio, my last name is rather hard to pronounce. Its Greek after all..."

Looking around them again, he licked his lips and gave a curt nod towards the tree he had more-or-less claimed his own. "I know I look like a big scary guy, but... I wasn't always like this. Just, if you don't want to be on the receiving end of my fist, don't be an ass to a girl."

He gave a small chuckle, figuring just by that one statement he'd probably scare the kid more.

Drew looked at Arsenio, his fear receeding with every spoken word. This guy's not so bad. Hell, of all the people I meet right at the start, I meet one who looks like he could seriously help. Wow, maybe my luck isn't total shit.

"Nice to meetcha, too...alright, Arsenio it is. Guessed it was Greek." He grinned a bit again. Something he'd picked up from Tobs. When in doubt or in an uncomfortable situation...grin.

"Heh, I've known a few ...big scary guys myself, but never found one to be actually scary, y'know?" He chuckled. "And don't worry; you asking me to not be an ass around a woman is like me asking a dog if he likes food. No problem there." Even so, the way Arsenio put it...>>;Scareh. Slightly. He didn't shake, but shuddered mentally, just a bit. If I piss this guy off somehow, there's no telling how badly screwed I am. At this thought, he forced a grin.

He stepped a bit closer. "An idea? ...for getting off this shithole of an island?" Oh, hell, there goes the filter. Didn't catch that.Either Drew's getting more comfortable around Arsenio, or he's just that much closer to losing it and freaking out....I'll bet on the second one, personally.

"Good guess then. Though, I never got to finish learning about my Greek heritage. Quite a few interesting things with Greece."

Seeing Drew grin, Arsenio chuckled, a hearty smile on his face. If he had been raised in Greece, he probably wouldn't have become so large, but his family had moved to America, and now here he was... miles away from home.

"Pa's probably worried about me... has been ever since mum was murdered..." What he didn't realize, was that he had just spoken his thoughts, which he didn't intend. Oops.

"At my school... I'm one of the largest guys, and well, to the bastard jocks, I was their worst nightmare. I've been in my share of fights, and not all of them just fist fights."

Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed, narrowing his eyes in thought like he always did when thinking. He didn't have a plan as to how they would get off of the Island, but he did have an idea on how to keep at least Drew alive.

"I'm not sure on how we would get off this fucking island, what with the patrols. But, I was thinking, if we stick together, we should be alright. At least, with me, you'll have assurance of surviving. If you back me, I'll back you."

"Heh, I know next to nothing about Greece..." He laughed. The one chance he'd had to learn of Greece, he'd taken Western Civ LATE instead, and learned a bit about ...well, 1800s on or so.

Anyway. "...fuck, your mom was murdered?" He bit his tongue right after saying this; it was apparent NOW, after thinking, that Arsenio had NOT meant to say this. And asking may not be something very good. He took a step back.

Shaking it off, hoping Arsenio wouldn't mind (too much - -'), he moved on. "...It's good to see someone who's like that...wait, 'not all of them just fist fights'?" He repeated this, analyzing what it meant. That meant ...either verbal...or...weapons.He let this drop as well, though.

"Dude, no problem, I'm stickin' with you! ...wait, 'assurance of surviving'?" Once more, Drew found himself repeating Arsenio, mainly because it was *another* rather radical thing he heard him say. "Whatcha mean by that...?" There was only one conclusion Drew thought of. And he didn't like it.

As soon as Drew asked about his mom being murdered, a look of shook came over Arsenio's face, realizing what he did. Biting back anger, he nodded bitterly."Yeah... by a fucking rapist too." It was apparent it was a touchy subject, but obviously one that he was willing to talk about if asked the right questions.

"I've fought with knives already... and I've had plenty of practice with a shot gun. One of the reasons my pa worries about me so much." He chuckled nervously, hoping not to frighten him.

"And what I meant by that, is that, well, you seem like the type of guy who won't survive without an ally in this game. Besides, would you be able to kill someone if you absolutely had to?"

He shook a bit. Obviously, Arsenio was very, very angry over this; still very bitter, no matter how long ago. But...a rapist?There were few things to enrage Drew immediatly. Extreme pride, ignorance, or arrogance would set him off. Belief that you were on a God-backed crusade would, also. Along with many things such as that, rapists didn't even deserve thought to him. They were below anything; the only thing worse to him (that a person could easily do, that is) was something like a child molester/rapist/killer type person. Not gettin' into that.He shook his head. The normal person would say 'that's horrible' or 'holy shit' or something...but, Drew had the sense not to say anything. Hopefully, Arsenio would take his silence the way it was intended. He didn't say anything, because he figured that if you didn't have anything worthwhile to say other than that kind of shit, you shouldn't say it. In a way, this was a Drew version of a Moment of Silence.

After said moment (around a few seconds), he looked back up...and shook. Very lightly, but still shook. "Knives...?"At his shotgun mention, he chuckled in return. "I know how to use guns of all kinds...thing is...biggest I've ever fired was a shitty little .22 cal' short. Not even a long .22; short." He chuckled a bit.

"HA, you hit the fuckin' nail on the head...I wouldn't last long without a buddy, I bet...and, about that. been thinking. I have some things I seriously want to get home for...but, even if I did kill and get off...they wouldn't be very legal, would they? Sure, it's a kind of self-defense, but ...all the law suits...it may not be worth it to survive by killing..." He chuckled. This was how Drew worked. He tended to over think or over analyze; much of the time, he'd analyze very odd parts of the problem. Such as the legal issues of SOTF.XD

He scratched his head. "I bet you ...find that a bit odd to think of, right? Just to warn you, I have incredibly weird thought patterns at times." Chuckle.

Running his hand through his hair quickly, Arsenio looked about the area, rubbing his his temples in frustration. Deep down, he was glad Drew didn't press the matter, too many people did once they found out, and he never liked telling what happened, even if most pyshciatrists say it helps.

"Yes, knives. Luckily for myself, I only retained scars from minor injuries and nothing fatal." He gave a small chuckle, though it seemed rather nervous, as if he wondered when he's luck would give out."I've only used my dad's automatic... though, I only used it to build up my aim."

Clapping Drew on the shoulder, Arsenio gave a deep, hearty chuckle. "I'll make sure you don't have to kill then. Honestly, I don't want to kill, but hey, if it comes down to it, I'll let you have the clean slate. Though... why you would be so worried as to think about the legal stuff is beyond me."

Looking around and listening, he began to wonder if they'd be all that safe in the woods, what with all the trees there large enough to hide an enemy.

"Look, Drew, I don't know if you'll agree or not, but I think we should get out of this here forest. Too many trees, too many shadows. Those playing the game could be hiding anywhere..."

"Shit...well, you know how to fight, apparently. That'll help you..." He grinned. His body seemed to lose an inch or so when Arsenio's hand landed on his shoulder, as it was...heavy. >_>

"Well, just because...y'know...having to kill some students, then getting home and finding out you're going to have law suits of the ass AND be thrown in a prison...when the reason you want to get home is to see someone again, that would defeat the purpose, no? ...and, man, there's no way I'd let you take such a huge hit for me. No fuckin' way. Having that guilt would be just as bad." He shook his head. Drew + guilt = not good.

"Yeah, definitely. Hiding spots for us are hiding spots for us. If this 'game' had no firearms, I'd say a nice open field...but, with guns...a building would be good, with multiple main exits and a few emergency ones." That sounded like it was directly lifted from a Tom Clancy book - -;

"I might know how to fight, doesn't mean I'm proud of it all." Taking his hand off Drew's shoulder, Arsenio went to his bag and took out the map he had saw in there earlier. "Well, at least we were given maps."

Looking at Drew, he looked a bit at a loss for words after Drew mentioned he wouldn't let Arsenio take the blame for him. For a moment, he just stared at him until a grin finally broke out on his face. "Alright. If you won't let me do that for you, I'll at least do my best to get you home safe. Sound better?"

Opening up the map, he looked to see the different places they could go, hopefully a building. "Let's see... we could either go to the Lighthouse or... there's the makeshift hospital or... there's even a small house."

Looking it over some more, he spotted a two more places which seemed to be of more use. "Hey, there's a bathroom facility and an old warehouse... perhaps we could head to the old warehouse? It'd be a lot safer than staying here any longer. What do you think?"